A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and his bodyguard were gunned down by two bike borne assailants at Haibatpur’s Tigri near the Vijay Nagar-Greater Noida Link Road on Thursday afternoon.

A minor girl, present at the spot was run over by the BJP leader’s car while the driver was hit was trying to escape.

The BJP leader, identified as Shiv Kumar, 40, and his bodyguard Bali Nath alias Balli were killeed at the shot after being shot multiple times. A third person, Rais Pal, an accomplice of Kumar, was rushed to a hospital with gunshot wounds.

The incident has come before the local body polls which are scheduled on November 26 for six local bodies in Greater Noida.

Sources said Kumar owned two schools in Haibatpur and had a real estate business.

Eyewitnesses said that the incident took place when Kumar had come to his school at Haibatpur on Thursday. The assailants, sources said, were waiting for him to arrive near the school. As soon as Kumar’s SUV arrived at the scene, the men opened fire at the vehicle hitting Kumar and his bodyguard. They then fled .

Sources said the victim was close to Union minister Mahesh Sharma.

Senior BJP leaders of Gautam Budh Nagar condemned the killing .

“It is an unfortunate incident. I have spoken to the senior superintendent of police and have asked him to form teams and nab the culprits at the earliest,” said Mahesh Sharma, the Union culture and tourism minister.

Some of the locals who were present at the scene when the shooting took place said that both the men were wearing masks.

“The assailants were waiting outside. As his SUV arrived, they opened indiscriminate fire. We heard multiple gunfire. Later, we came to know that the assailants had fled and had aides who were waiting for them nearby,” said Dheeraj Chauhan, a shopkeeper at Haibatpur.

“After being hit, the car moved for 15-20 metres before coming to a halt. A minor girl was also hit by Sharma’s car as it was trying to drive away,” Chauhan added. The girl later died at a hospital.

“As per our investigations two masked men on a bike opened fire at the vehicle . A minor girl was run over by Sharma’s SUVa nd sustained head injuries. She died at a hospital later,” said Love Kumar, senior superintendent of police, Gautam Budh Nagar.